1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to computer apparatus, and more particularly relates to PCMCIA card structures that are removably insertable into the interior of a computer and operatively connectable to electronic circuitry therein.
2. Description of Related Art
Due to their small size, PCMCIA cards have recently become popular computer enhancement devices particularly in the realm of notebook computers. About the size of a credit card, a PCMCIA card is insertable lengthwise into a slot that extends inwardly into a computer housing. As the card is inserted into the slot its opposite side edge portions are received in a pair of opposed card side edge support channel structures, and when the card reaches its fully inserted orientation connector pins within the slot removably enter corresponding sockets in the inner card end to thereby electrically couple the internal card circuitry to the main circuitry within the computer.
Depending upon their internal circuitry, PCMCIA cards can augment the functions of their associated computer in a variety of ways serving, for example, as auxiliary memory cards, hard drives, pagers, network interface connectors and LAN cards. While the insertion of the typical PCMCIA card into its associated computer slot electrically couples the inserted card to the main computer circuitry, it is often necessary to also couple the card to an external device or system.
For example, when the PCMCIA card is a modem card it is necessary to couple the inserted card to an external phone system. This is typically accomplished using an adapter box that serves as an interface between the phone system and the modem card. The adapter box has a first cable extending outwardly therefrom with a connector on its outer end that is receivable in a wall-mounted phone jack outlet. A second cable also extends outwardly from the box and has a plug on its outer end that is insertable into corresponding socket openings on the outer end of the inserted PCMCIA card.
When the adapter box is operatively connected between the modem card and the phone system, the result is that a relatively large box is left dangling on a cable from the outer end of the inserted PCMCIA card--a result which is undesirable from both a mechanical connection standpoint and an aesthetic standpoint. It can thus be seen that it would be desirable to provide improved apparatus and methods for connecting an external system to a PCMCIA card such as a modem card. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide such improved apparatus and methods.